No. 15/14 St. Cloud State Skates to Tie with (RV) Omaha

Saturday, January 27

St. Cloud, Minn.

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

11-8-5, 7-3-4

Omaha

12-9-3, 5-7-2

OT 1

OT 2

Omaha

St. Cloud St.

1/28/2024 1:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Gray makes 21 saves in collegiate debut

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 15/14 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (11-8-5, 7-3-4 NCHC) skated to a 1-1 tie with (RV) Omaha (12-9-3, 5-7-2 NCHC) with the Mavericks earning the shootout win on Saturday night at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. Fifth-year forward Zach Okabe (Okotoks, Alberta) continued his hot stretch of play with the Huskies lone goal, while redshirt freshman goaltender James Gray (Toronto, Ontario) was impressive in his first career start in net.

The Huskies jumped out to an early lead with Okabe's score just 3:56 into the game as his wrist shot from the left dot on a breakaway was able to sneak by the Omaha goaltender for a score. Senior forward Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finland) logged the primary assist on the goal while junior defenseman Josh Luedtke (Minnetonka, Minn.) had the secondary helper. The Huskies dominated the game in the opening period, outshooting the Mavericks, 16-6, but couldn't find another goal.

Omaha's lone score of the game came at the 9:30 mark of the second period when Matt Miller's centering pass hit off a Husky defenseman's stick and into the back of the net to make the score 1-1.

Both goaltenders were solid in the game, including the Huskies' Gray, who made 21 saves in his first collegiate appearance and collegiate start. Gray made nine crucial saves in the last period that included more than a few on breakaways.

TOP HUSKIES

Gray logged 21 saves and earned the third star of the game.
Okabe scored his sixth goal of the season in the first period.
Veeti Miettinen and Luedtke each had an assist in the game.

NOTES

With the tie, St. Cloud State moves to 29-17-4 all-time against Omaha and 17-7-2 in St. Cloud.
St. Cloud State outshot Omaha 32-22 in the game, marking the 16^th time in 24 games SCSU has outshot its opponent.
Okabe scored his fifth goal in his last seven games and sixth goal of the season in the first period.
Okabe's score was his 48^th career goal and 111^th career point as he now ranks 25^th and 28^th all-time in program history in those respective categories.
Gray made 21 saves and earned the tie in his collegiate debut and first start.
Miettinen recorded his seventh assist and 20^th point of the season, his fourth consecutive season with 20+ points (2020-24: 24, 23, 36, 20).
Miettinen becomes the 13^th Husky to record 20 or more points in four consecutive seasons and the first since Patrick Newell (2015-19: 22, 24, 27, 47)
Luedtke recorded his ninth assist and 11^th point of the season, new career-highs.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

UP NEXT

St. Cloud State hits the road for its next series as the Huskies visit Colorado College Feb. 2-3. Friday's contest is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. CT and Saturday's at 7:00 p.m. CT. The games will be broadcast on NCHC.tv and on the radio on KNSI.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Hockey, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Tickets for the 2023-24 season are available at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.